Dystopia I: The Awakening
Dystopia I '''is the first saga of Dystopia timeline. The events of the saga begin with Micoda's self-realization as he finds himself in a gladiator arena facing an unknown opponent. His memory for a long period is lost, over 30 years have passed since he defeated The Divine Core, and he does not know of anything else than fighting. Identified as the Doombringer #39, Micoda realizes he is thought of as a '''clone of himself. With his power lost, Micoda struggles to find out what exactly is going on. One thing is for certain: unknown forces are after Micoda's head and the gladiator ring may be lethal. At the top of the authority lies the notorious group of Ten Devils, ten most powerful gladiators holding power over the society. Finally, the frustration of Micoda results to him searching for someone to unleash his potential. An alchemist named Alba appears to help. After he allows Micoda to restore some of his lost power, Micoda helps with his tasks and later begins a run to reach the top of the gladiator leaderboard. An assassination plan on Micoda during a tournament fails as someone known as "Legionnaire" intervenes. While the culprit is not known, the head investigator of the scene, Themos Regus, does not wish for Micoda to continue his intended tournament. Micoda disregards the warning and goes face-to-face in the tournament with Themos Regus himself, who notes that his master, the infamous "Legionnaire" wished for Micoda to quit. The enraged Micoda fights with bitter rage, resorting to the forbidden art of Soulfire in the process. In a miraculous event, one enigmatic individual in a cape seemingly freezes time to set Micoda's forbidden technique off course, resulting in Themos Regus merely dying instead of being banished, which would have forced authorities to capture Micoda. After news of Themos's death reach his master, Micoda is challenged by "Legionnaire" and avoids the match until the enigmatic individual who saved him, #11, challenges him. Going by the name of Original Shadow, 'the man summons Adocim to the battlefield! While this is seemingly but an image of Micoda's loyal ally, he is a ridiculously tough opponent that forces Micoda into a corner. In a sudden surge of power, Micoda blanks out and emerges victorious with a subconscious technique. Original Shadow is nowhere to be seen. Finally, the authoritative L'egionnaire, #1 among gladiators, forces the match upon Micoda. Alba appears to give Micoda premium equipment. While the man behind the alias is a young swordmaster, he forces Micoda into a rage by showing him the scene of the moment when he murdered Micoda. Eventually the battle shifts into a state where Micoda empathizes with a memory of the man he's facing. Legionnaire is revealed to have been Santes and the one giving the command for Micoda's death was Memoxara! The two strike each other with their last remnants of power, and Micoda convinces Santes to ignore the order and face the future. Santes collapses and Micoda emerges as the #1 gladiator! Original Shadow appears and converses with Alba, who notes that the enigmatic man is actually Marudeux! Then the Ancient disappears. In the aftermath, Micoda absorbs the soul of Santes. Continues in Dystopia II: Link. Themes There are several themes which remain unclear after the first saga. These include: *Main mystery is the existence of Purged Decades, a period "unrecorded in history". It notably matches with most of the time for which Micoda lost his memories. Alba, for example, notes that his ultimate goal is to find out about it, likely by searching for The Fragmented Chronicle. **Micoda has flashbacks throughout the saga. These are mainly seen in combat, which awakens his memories. Not all of them are his own. Micoda has also witnessed the past of people like Santes and Themos Regus. *Infinite Legion is an organization that was apparently founded by Micoda and fought Alypos. It remains active during the saga. Their intentions are not clarified. Several members are mentioned and seen in flashbacks. *Ten Devils rule the area, but their intentions are not clarified and the members' pasts or such are not explained.